Enhancement of diosgenin production in Dioscorea zingiberensis cell culture by oligosaccharide elicitor from its endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum Dzf17.

Diosgenin accumulation in cell suspension cultures of Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright was enhanced by treatment with saccharide elicitors from its endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum isolate Dzf17. The crude oligosaccharide was prepared by partial acid hydrolysis of the isolated Dzf17 fungal cell wall fragments. Optimal elicitation of diosgenin production by the isolated Dzf17 oligosaccharide in cell suspension culture was achieved when the oligosaccharide was added to the medium at a concentration of 30 mg/L after 16-day's continuous cell suspension culture, and the cells were cultured for another 8 days before harvesting. By using these optimal conditions, the diosgenin yield of the cultured cells reached its maximum of 5.25 mg/L, which was over a three-fold increase.